What does bobsled mean?
A bobsled is a specialized racing vehicle designed to carry a crew of two or four people at high speed down a steep, ice-covered track. The craft consists of an aerodynamic fiberglass body mounted on steel runners, with a front pair that pivots for steering and a rear brake operated by the crew. The term refers both to the machine itself and, by extension, to the winter sport built around it, which has been part of the Winter Olympics since their first edition in 1924. In American usage the word 'bobsled' covers both the vehicle and the activity, while British speakers typically say 'bobsleigh'. The word evokes speed, precision teamwork, and cold-weather daring: pilots steer through banked curves where crews experience forces several times greater than gravity. Beyond elite competition, the word also appears in tourist contexts, where resorts offer passenger bobsled rides on former Olympic runs. Its most famous cultural moment may be Jamaica's unexpected entry into Olympic bobsledding in 1988, an underdog story that inspired the film Cool Runnings.
nounA small vehicle with runners, used by teams of two or four for racing down an ice-covered track, steered by a driver and braked at the rear.
- The vehicle itself: a streamlined, runner-equipped sled used in competitive racing down ice tracks.
- A ride or run taken in such a vehicle, as in recreational or tourist bobsledding.
"The four-man bobsled hurtled down the final curve at nearly ninety miles per hour."
"Jamaica's debut bobsled team became one of the most beloved underdog stories in Winter Olympics history."
"In St. Moritz, visitors can book a passenger seat on a real bobsled run with a professional pilot."
Regular plural; standard in all contexts.
"Four bobsleds qualified for the final heats."
A bobsled can hit speeds over 90 mph — with no engine at all, just gravity, ice, and nerves of steel.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bobsled
The word bobsled combines 'bob' — originally referring to a bobbing or rocking motion — with 'sled', from Middle Dutch or Low German slede, meaning a sliding conveyance. It arose in late nineteenth-century North America when thrill-seekers began linking two sledges together with a plank, creating a craft that rocked back and forth, or 'bobbed', as it descended snowy streets; this practice gave the new vehicle its name. The related British form 'bobsleigh' developed along the same lines. The sport was formalized in Switzerland in the 1890s and entered the first Winter Olympics in 1924.
Related word forms
How bobsled is actually used
American English strongly prefers 'bobsled' for both the vehicle and the sport, while British English uses 'bobsleigh'. The word is neutral in register but appears most often in sporting contexts; casual recreational use ('tourist bobsled rides') also occurs.
Easily confused with bobsled
Luge is a similar ice sport but the athlete races feet-first and supine on a much smaller sled, whereas a bobsled carries a crew of two or four riding inside a fully enclosed vehicle.
Skeleton involves racing head-first and face-down on a single small sled, unlike the enclosed, crew-piloted bobsled.
Bobsleigh is simply the British English name for the same sport and vehicle that Americans call bobsled.